Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) dates back to as early as the 1600's when compressed air was delivered to an airtight room for the treatment of various ailments. The first contemporary HBOT programs, however, were developed in the early 1900's when the delivery to the body of increased oxygen concentrations was found to be an effective treatment for decompression sickness, commonly known as the bends. Subsequently, HBOT was approved for the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning where it has been shown to produce recovery with little or no neurological deficit.
While HBOT is well known as the treatment of choice for decompression sickness and has a significant history in the treatment of carbon monoxide poisoning, HBOT is only recently emerging as part of other treatment regimen. Despite the controversy surrounding the acceptance of HBOT as an element of newer protocols, HBOT has been shown to be invaluable in certain situations. On e such area is in the treatment of selected non-healing wounds and compromised skin grafts and/or flaps, where the hyperoxygenation of the plasma concomitant HBOT treatment is particularly beneficial in bacteria reduction and infection control.
It has been found that HBOT has bacteriostatic and bactericidal effects on anaerobic bacteria. In particular, it is known that HBOT can inhibit the toxins produced by the synergistic bacteria found in necrotizing fasciitis--staphylococcus aureus and bacterioides. Although the host soft-tissue infection is considered rare, the lifesaving and limb-preserving role of HBOT in its prevention is not generally disputed. Likewise, HBOT is known to contribute to the control of aerobic infections. In particular, the increased oxygen levels resultant HBOT helps ensure the necessary oxygen required for the neutrophils to kill bacteria. It is also known that the antimicrobial effect of some antibiotics can be enhanced by HBOT. In summary, it is clear that HBOT can play a significant role in the management of wounds with acute or chronic infection.
Unfortunately, the ability to provide the patient with the beneficial HBOT does not come without difficulty. Necrotizing fasciitis usually occurs postoperatively, after trauma or after inadequate care of abscesses or cutaneous ulcers. Because patients falling into any of these categories often require therapeutic support surfaces to prevent further skin deterioration and/or related complications, it has heretofore been generally impractical to incorporate HBOT into the treatment regimen. Even if the hospital hosting the patient were one of the few having the very expensive HBOT capability, most hyperbaric chambers are not compatible with the presently available therapeutic surfaces. In the very rare case of a hospital having an entire room dedicated to HBOT known therapeutic surfaces are nonetheless rendered ineffective by the tendency for the increased pressure to compress the patient support surface. As a result, those patients with the most severe skin deterioration, and therefore most likely to benefit from HBOT, are most often excluded from HBOT due to the critical need for support upon a therapeutic skin treatment surface.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to improve generally over the prior art by providing a platform for HBOT having integrated therein a fully compatible therapeutic patient support surface.
It is a further object of the present invention to make HBOT more readily available by providing a platform for HBOT that is inexpensive and within the capital budgets of the majority of hospitals.
It is yet another object of the present invention to still further increase the availability of HBOT by providing a platform for HBOT that is easily transportable and no or little more space consuming than presently available standard hospital beds.
It is still further an object of the present invention to facilitate the critical care of patients requiring HBOT by providing a platform for HBOT that is readily interfaced with standard treatment instrumentalities such as, for example, cardiac monitors and intravenous (IV) flows.
Finally, it is an object of the present invention to promote the general patient care by providing a platform for HBOT that is sensitive to fears and concerns of the already distressed patient such as, for example, the claustrophobia often experienced by patients subjected to HBOT.